Morning Fix - Who You Calling Fat?

• A 'Fat Tax,' a surcharge on some level of obesity, is being proposed for NM teachers outside of ABQ as a way to help fund their health insurance. Also possible: tobacco use, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. For Pete's sake, teaching causes high blood pressure & eating cafeteria food makes a person fat! ABQ teachers looking at 17% increase in premiums.

• Bernalillo County could lose 900 projects that have been funded but not yet built. That works out to about $44 million. Projects seem to run the gamut from good to bad. Got an opinion on a $250K railroad spur to Balloon Fiesta Park? $2M ABQ arena? $63K asbestos abatement at Zuni Elementary School? Time to look closely.

• APS Police are on the lookout for Gonjah, a legal leafy herb that has effects similar to pot. Apparently it is being sold in smoke shops and on-line. Can we please nip this in the bud?

Samantha, Uhm, yes, there have already been cases where girls were stripsearched because they dared to give the dangerous drug OTC mydol. and in alot of schools if you are to have any pills(even vitamins) they have to be dispensed by the school nurse.

So...if NM wants to charge overweight/unhealthy teachers, will they give a break to those that, say, bike to work, are vegetarians, don't smoke...I think people respond more to rewards than punishment. At least that's what I learned in Psych 101 oh-so long ago...

90 percent of obesity is preventable? How many of us, due to technology, work in sedentary work environments?

Just because you work in a sedentary environment doesn't mean you have to be sedentary all the time. I work at a desk, but ride my bike to work and also run up and down the stairs a few times a day to get some exercise and a break from the desk. No one is forced to drive a car to work, either--a commute can just as easily be by bike or by bus, or by bike and bus. There's also that little thing about controlling how much food you take on board. Yes, I know that some people are not able to exercise--or have serious metabolic problems which prevent them from being able to keep from gaining weight. However, those people are not in the majority...

While it is true that Safeway may have had ulterior motives in not wanting to pay for health care, it is proven that a lot of health problems ARE indeed preventable--with exercise and a good diet.